Monthly Archives: February 2014

As most Minnesotans know, fishing is a HUGE part of our state’s lifestyle. We cast lines from boats in warmer weather and through holes cut in the ice during winter. Many communities, resorts, and outfitters scattered around the 10,000+ lakes thrive on this pastime. And all those anglers seem to be after that one ever-popular fish, the walleye. The trophy fish is fun to catch and good eating, so much that it was named Minnesota’s state fish in 1965. And while many towns situated near popular fishing lakes claim to be the “Walleye Capital,” who officially holds the title? Let’s take a further look.

North Dakota, that rarely-mentioned border state in the Great Plains with no major tourist attractions and a slough of dying small towns, is currently going through a modern-day gold rush. The Bakken Oil formation, a 200K-square mile underground formation beneath parts of ND, MT, and southern Canada, has transformed the area, with the town of Williston as the epicenter. Williston went from a quiet, agricultural town of around 12,000 to roughly 30,000 in the last 10 years. Rent prices have skyrocketed, exceeding that of New York City. This week we share photos from a trip through the heart of North Dakota’s oil fields taken on a sunny day last fall. (I apologize ahead of time for the poor-quality photos).

Exploring the Twin Cities, one notices there is an abundance of beautiful and unique churches to be found. This isn’t surprising, given the history and population of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Narrowing this week’s list down to the following churches was a mighty struggle, because each attempt to research more of them uncovered dozens upon dozens of different ones. Here is the top 20 List of Highway Highlight’s favorite churches in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & St Paul.